This invention is directed to soil sampling, and more particularly to a method and apparatus for sampling soil at multiple locations around a vehicle.
Soil sampling has been done in the past for various agricultural purposes. Soil samples are taken from the top few feet of ground where plants and their roots grow. The samples are analyzed to determine the relevant chemical properties of the soil, moisture content, etc. Sampling results are then used to determine an agricultural strategy which may include such determinations as the type and spacing of .crops most suitable for the soil, the proper type and amount of fertilizer, the proper type and amount of herbicide, etc.
As soil sample results have become more and more valuable in determining an effective agricultural strategy, it has been recognized that single samples do not always provide accurate results. Occasionally very localized soil content anomalies will cause the sample taken not to be indicative of the area of the field that the sample represents. Accordingly, it is now recommended that multiple soil samples be taken from a star-shaped pattern, from locations on a circle of a diameter not less than twelve (12) feet. Such a star pattern ensures significant spacing between multiple soil samples, so that very localized soil anomalies can be avoided. Averaging techniques can then be used to better determine a proper agricultural strategy for that section of the plot.
Through star pattern sampling techniques, accurate soil characteristics can be determined for fairly large sampling spacing. For example, one star pattern may accurately reflect soil conditions over a 2 to 4 acres span. Sizable plots will obviously require numerous star patterns to determined broad-based changes in soil content. Accurate averaged results from these numerous star patterns can then be further manipulated to provide an agricultural strategy which takes into account variations in soil conditions across a large plot. For instance, global satellite positioning can be utilized in conjunction with soil sample results to automatically alter the amount and type of fertilizer spread during runs across the field by a single unit. As agricultural strategy becomes more and more sophisticated, the importance of soil sampling is becoming more and more significant.
Previous soil samplers have taken samples from a single location off of the vehicle to which the sampler is mounted. For instance, U.S. Pat. No. 4,685,339 to Philipenko and owned by the assignee of the present invention, discloses a soil sampler which is mounted on a vehicle such as a pickup truck. The Philipenko soil sampling probe moves vertically to take a sample, but does not otherwise move with respect to the pickup truck. To take samples from multiple locations, the pickup truck must be moved.